Improvement in knitting-machines



UNITED STATES PATENT QEEIGE.

J. DALTON, OF ILLIAMSBURG, NEV YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN KNITTING-MACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 58,610, dated October 9, 1856.

To all whom it may concern .Be it known that I, JosEPH DALTON, of XVilliamsburg, Kings county, and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Knitting-ll/lachine; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference bein g had to the accompanying draw# ings, forming part ot` this specication, in which- Figure l represents a side elevation ot' this invention. Fig. 2 is a vert-ical central section ot' the same. Fig. 3 is a plan or top view ot1 the same. Fig. L is a diagram of the stitch made by this machine.

Similar letters ot' reference indicate like parts.

This invention relates to a machine which produces a combined warp and knit stitch, applicable particularly for covering skirt-wire, making or covering cords or other materials, or for the manufacture ot` lamp-wicks, lacings, &c. The stitch is produced by a series of needles, which are placed relatively to each other in a zigzag position, and whicln'are operated each by an independent lever in a circular frame in such a manner that a perfect web can be produced with but three needles, and increasing according to the size of web desired. Threads ofthe same kind or ot' dif-` ferent materials are alike easily worked, each strand or thread being received by its own and unchangeable line of' needlesat every revolution.

A represents the bed ot' my machine, which is supported by three or any appropriate number ot' legs, B. Said bed is circular, and forms the guide for the disk C, from which rises the cam D and the standard or platform E, supporting the spools S S S, and to which a revolving motion is imparted by a belt or by any other suitable means. The thread or yarn may and can either work stationary or revolve.

The cam D is composed of two parts, viz: the bottom part, which is rigidly connected to or cast solid with the disk C, and the top part, which is fastened to the platformE at a certain distance above the bottom part, as clearly shown in Fig. l ofthe drawings. By said cam aposit-ive risingaiutfallingmotiou is imparted to the tail ends of a series of stationary de tached levers, G, which radiate from the center of the bed A, and which serve to impart to the needles n. a the desired rising-and-talling motion.

The benefits derived from the detached levers are that molding, casting, or soldering of needles into jacks or slides is dispensed with, and thereby not only is time economized and a great outlay saved in the extra named iixings, but a boy or girl is enabled to operate the machine with ease and dispatch.

The great advantage ofthe stationary levers is that all twist-ing or turning of the cord or braid is obviated, and thus, instead ot being compelled to cut it off at certain lengths on account ot' this twisting or turning, which is the result of levers revolving with the wheel and needle-cylinder, the operation of knitting can be continued until the proper length of the cord is obtained.

rlhe combination or" a knitting machine needle having no lead, jack, or other part to which itis soldered or attached,with a lever for operating the same when the needle and lever are detached and not riveted or positively connected, distinguishes them very clearly from those needles operated directly by a cam.

The levers G have their fulcra on a circular ridge or pill, a, which is contained in an annular recess in a metallic cylinder, H, which is connected to the bed A of the machine, and said levers pass through radial slots b in the cylinder, so that their tail ends bear on the cam D and their inner forked ends straddle the toes cof the needles a a. Suitable slots or notches i on the levers G allow of dropping the same over the ridge or pin u, and each lever is provided with a segmental projection or curvature, e, which bears against the inner sur face of a removable ring, I, that is secured to the top edge of the cylinder H. By removing' the ring I the several levers G can be taken each out of its radial slot b, and the operation ot1 making and inserting said levers is reir dered simple and easy.

The cylinder H, instead of being rigidly se-l cured to the bed A, is connected to the same by screws in such a manner that it can be raised or lowered at pleasure, and it is provided with slots to admit the slotted ears y ot segments f, which serve to hold the disk G in position and to provide for any wear of the same. v

By adjusting the cylinder H the lever G can be brought in the proper relation to the cam D and to the toes of the needles, and any wear in the working parts of the machine can be readily compensated.

The needles a a move up and down in grooves d in the circumference of a stationary needle-cylinder, J, which is secured in the center of the bed A of the machine and rises to a suitable'height above the surface of the cylinder H and of the ring I, which covers, the top of said cylinder H. The grooves d, in which the needles move, lare of different depths, so that the needles are arranged in a zigzag position, or the needles can be so shaped as to do away with the irregular grooves, as clearly shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings.

The various threads which form the stitch are taken from the spools S S' S, and they pass through the curved thread-guide K, which is secured to the circumference of the cam D and projects nearly to the center of the tubular projection J, close to that point thereof where the needles rise. Said thread-guide is provided with a series of holes, k 7s ll l, through which rthe' various threads are drawn, as shown in Fig. lofythe drawings. NVhen these threads arev used the first or lowest, which passes throughthe holes 7c lin the thread-guide,forms the warp, the middle thread forms the main thread, and the upper one the additional loopthread, the warp being shown in blue, the main thread in black, and the additional loop thread in red. rlhe warp simply follows the zigzag line ofthe needles, but it passes below the latches of the said needles and is not caught by the same. Each of the outer needles takes both the main thread and the additional loop-thread, and each of the inner needles takes the main thread only, so that a stitch is produced such as shown in Fig. 4. The formation of the stitch is facilitated by a hook, o, which conducts the main thread to the needle.

A skirt-wire or a cord or any other article inserted in the tubular projection J is covered by the fabric produced by the action of the needles a a', or said fabric may be knitted without a cord and used as a hollow cord, or it may be attened down and used as a tape.

Lamp-wicks, cords, knit and plaited. goods, goods formed of warp and weft, and non-elastic or elastic cloths ofeither silk,'cotton, or wool can be made on my machine, and as many colors may be worked in as may be desired.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The method herein described of forming a combined warp and knit stitch by the action of a series of needles which rise and fall in the needle-cylinder, in combination with a revolving cam and spool-carrier, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

2. rLhe detached levers G, with their curvatures e, in combination with the movable ring I, substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

3. The reciprocating needles a, arranged in acircular series, one portion thereof placed within and concentric to that in which the others are placed, or with those of each series at an inclination from a vertical line, substatitially as described, for the purpose specified.

4. The segmental projections e on the upper edges of the levers Gr, in combination with the top plate or ring, I, and fulcrum a, constructed and operating substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The adjustable segments f, in combination with the cylinder H, levers Gr, and cam D, constructed and operating substantially as and for the purpose described.

J. DALTON.

Witnesses: M. M. LIVtNGs'roN,

W. HAUFF. 

